2013 abcs of school choice: comparative views on choice in districts and states (2013)

Comparative Views on Choice in Districts and States

International Academic Conference on School Choice and Education Reform

January 19, 2013Ft. Lauderdale, FL

Paul DiPernaFriedman Foundation for Educational Choice

[email protected]

2013 ABCs of School Choice

edchoice.orgThe Friedman Foundation For Educational Choice | edchoice.org

About the Friedman Foundation• Established in 1996• Headquarters in Indianapolis, IN• 501(c)(3) / Nonpartisan / Nonprofit• What do we do?

Working with local and state partners,

we are committed to research, education, and outreach on the vital issues and implications

related to choice and competition in K-12 education.


1. Definitions2. National Overview3. Program Indicators4. Takeaways5. On the horizon…

Selected Profiles/Trends

edchoice.org


18 voucher programs• 12 states and D.C.• 104,000 students (est.)

14 tax-credit scholarship programs• 11 states• 151,000 students (est.)

1 education savings accounts program

• Arizona• 362 students (2013)

6 individual tax credit/deduction programs

• 6 states• 847,000 taxpayers (est.)


2003States with Vouchers & Tax-Credit Scholarships


2013States with Vouchers & Tax-Credit Scholarships

edchoice.org


Where are the newest programs?(enacted in 2011 or 2012)

• Arizona*• Douglas County, CO* • Indiana (2)• Louisiana (2)*• New Hampshire• North Carolina • Ohio • Oklahoma• Pennsylvania• Virginia• Racine, WI


Student Eligibility (% eligible of all K-12 students in jurisdiction)

TopAZ personal tax-credit scholarships (100%)GA tax-credit scholarships (100%)Cleveland, OH, vouchers (100%)OK tax-credit scholarships (88%)AZ corporate tax-credit scholarships (78%)

Douglas County, CO, vouchers (89%)*

BottomME town tuitioning vouchers (7%)VT town tuitioning vouchers (6%)OH EdChoice vouchers (5%)MS Dyslexia vouchers (4%)OH Autism vouchers (< 1%)


Estimated Participation Rates(% participation of eligible students)

TopMilwaukee, WI, vouchers (42%)OH EdChoice vouchers (20%)OH Autism vouchers (15%)Cleveland, OH, vouchers (12%)FL McKay special needs vouchers (7%)FL tax-credit scholarships (7%)


Estimated Participation Rates(% participation of eligible students)

Bottom (all serving < 2%)AZ corporate tax-credit scholarships AZ ESAs*AZ Lexie's Law tax-credit scholarshipsGA tax-credit scholarships IN tax-credit scholarships*LA special needs vouchers*LA vouchers* MS special needs vouchers*OH Jon Peterson special needs vouchers*OK special needs vouchers*RI tax-credit scholarshipsUT Carson Smith special needs vouchers


Student Funding(considering the average voucher/scholarship value as percentage of state’s total per-student spending)

TopVT town tuitioning vouchers, $13,958 (87%)ME town tuitioning vouchers, $8,798 (71%)Milwaukee, WI, vouchers, $6,442 (56%)Racine, WI, vouchers, $6,442 (56%)LA vouchers, $5,300 (50%)

BottomAZ personal tax-credit scholarships, $1,861 (23%)RI tax-credit scholarships, $2,727 (19%)IA tax-credit scholarships, $1,031 (11%)IN tax-credit scholarships, $880 (9%)PA tax-credit scholarships, $990 (8%)


Rules & Regulations (out of 18 voucher programs)

• 5 limited to low- and middle-income students

• 8 limited to special needs students

• 10 require “prior-year public school”

• 10 require standardized testing (details vary)

• 2 based on public school accountability (OH, LA)

• 2 have statutory budget caps


Rules & Regulations (out of 14 tax-credit scholarship programs)

• 11 limited to low- and middle-income students

• 1 limited to special needs students

• 5 require “prior-year public school”

• 5 require standardized testing (details vary)

• 1 based on public school accountability (PA)

• 12 have statutory budget caps (4 “escalators”)


Takeaways (caution… we’re working with small N’s)

• Vouchers perform better wrt participation rates and average levels of student funding. (~ implementation)

• Tax-credit scholarships have larger relative proportions of eligible children to serve.

• So far, both voucher and tax-credit scholarship programs are designed to serve and/or prioritize disadvantaged populations of students (x stratification concerns).

• Voucher programs more likely to require some form of standardized testing.

• Voucher programs more likely to require priory-year public school enrollment.

• Tax-credit scholarship programs more likely to have hard budget caps specified in law, thus making less responsive to demand, and subsequently supply-side issues.


On the horizon…

• State Supreme Court decisions in IN, CO, AZ, LA• Period of solidifying legislative gains (2013, 2014)• Legislative action toward expansions in IA, IN• Legislative action toward new programs in: TN, MS, TX, ME, NC, AR, AK• Increasingly complex policy design a challenge for

forecasting performance and unintended consequences.

Thank You

Questions, Comments, or Suggestions?

Contact: Paul DiPerna, [email protected]

The Friedman Foundation For Educational Choice | edchoice.org

voucher

participation trends


tax-credit scholarship



individual tax credit



2013 abcs of school choice: comparative views on choice in districts and states (2013)

News & Politics

oh edchoice vouchers

educational choice edchoice

ok taxcredit scholarships

fl taxcredit scholarships

pa taxcredit scholarships

la vouchers

orgthe friedman foundation

ia taxcredit scholarships